See How I Completely Transformed My Mouse Hole-Ridden Kitchen & Living Room (Thrifting Was My Renovation Superpower!) (2024)

Melanie Gnau

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We looked to Asheville for inspiration.

One of our favorite places in Asheville is the River Arts District (RAD). Once an industrial area with cotton mills, meat processing plants, and factories, River Arts is now home to artist studios, galleries, shops, restaurants, breweries, and a skate park. After work, my partner and I like to walk through the park, bike on the trail, or get in a skate session at the old Velodrome (nicknamed the Mellowdrome) or the Foundy skatepark.

The RAD district is a place where graffiti is encouraged, but right across the street are old Loblolly pine trees, a walking path, and tourists floating down the French Broad River. Many people describe Asheville as “eclectic,” but I don’t think that’s quite right; I took inspiration for my home from the River Art’s dichotomy of industrial and gritty but also naturalistic and soft. I like to describe my style as “art gallery in the woods.”

We poured ourselves into the project for years.

We viewed our home renovation as our own personal art project. We took our time (four years! Although anyone who owns a house knows that it’s never truly complete) so we could get a feel for our small home, find out what works for our lifestyle and what doesn’t, as well as source materials as locally and sustainably as possible.

Before we could get to the fun of styling and redecorating, we had to complete the less fun aspects of renovation (IMO!), like putting in new insulation, drywall, and electrical. My partner and I did the parts we felt most comfortable with, like demolition, painting, building cabinetry, putting up trim, and framing out windows. But we did contract out for the more tricky aspects, like electrical, drywall, and refinishing the floors.

Additionally, we often traded time for money —DIYing when we could, or putting projects on hold as needed to save up for them. It was admittedly stressful to live in a half-finished home, but I’m proud that we didn’t take on any home renovation loans.

We emphasized sustainability.

Sustainability is an important part of my life, and it’s a value I often see reflected in my neighborhood and community. Asheville is home to vintage clothing and furniture stores, vegan restaurants, and even a tool library, so it wasn’t difficult to find reno items we needed locally. While buying from big-box stores would’ve been easier, I took the time to source both materials and furnishings from local flea markets, estate sales, thrift stores, and antique shops because it fits my value of sustainability and it was better for our budget.

We found the barnwood for the kitchen cabinets listed on Craigslist by a local who was taking down a barn, and we purchased it for $250. My partner is an artist and learned carpentry from building skate ramps as a kid. He was able to design the kitchen layout and build the cabinets and shelves to fit our needs. I gave them a light sand to keep the integrity of the old wood and covered the cabinets with a polyacrylic medium to ensure a smooth and wipeable surface. We then hired a local company to install a quartz countertop for about $2,400.

For the kitchen floors, we bought tile from a local architectural salvage shop for $250. We went with salvage because it’s a more budget-friendly and environmentally friendly choice. I also like that I could support a local business and use something that would have gone to waste. We paid a subcontractor to install the tile for us at $1,900. But looking back, I wish we would’ve opted to tile it ourselves. The folks we hired didn’t have the attention to detail that I prefer. Remodeling your first home is a learning process for sure!

I’m particularly proud of our “dining room” table. We found the top at a local flea market for $5. The legs were wobbly and the metal was pitted, so we replaced those with legs from Prettypegs. I love the juxtaposition of a vintage metal top with very modern, black wooden legs.

In the living room area, now part of one big living space with the kitchen, we installed the ceiling fan and light fixtures ourselves, and DIYed the heat shield for the wood-burning stove from tin ceiling tiles. We had a professional install the stove, inspect the chimney, and look over the heat shield to make sure everything was safe.

Finding furniture that fit both our space and budget was a challenge — particularly a pet-friendly couch for the small room. We also created our own record storage using painted cement blocks, upcycled crates, and wood.

In total, we spent about $10,000 on our kitchen and living room renovation. That doesn’t include floor refinishing, insulation, drywall, and painting, as those were part of a broader whole-house project, but it does include new appliances we bought during a Black Friday sale. (I had looked around town for lightly used options, but I couldn’t find a matching fridge, stove, vent hood, washer, and dryer.)

We made a home that works for us.

I love that when people walk into my home, they often comment on how spacious it feels. Not every house needs to be open concept, but for our small home, taking out the kitchen wall was one of the best choices that we made. Our home now fits in better with our lifestyle. When entertaining, I can interact with our guests while I work in the kitchen and they sit in the living room or at the “dining room” table. I can also still talk to my partner when he’s washing dishes or we’re putting in a load of laundry. That kind of coziness is comforting to me.

It wasn’t easy to live in a renovation for several years. And truthfully, our home may never be completely “done.” But I’m happy with the phase it’s in right now. I’m also proud that we did so much of the renovation work ourselves, honored the location of our home, and gave another life to so many reclaimed materials.

Renovating

Kitchen

Living Room